Convertible intravenous armboard



June 21, 1966 E. Y. CAYPINAR 3,256,880

CONVERTIBLE INTRAVENOUS ARMBOARD Filed June 17, 1963 IN VENTOR. 6? X C0 YP/IVQR Y B TJWQ 1 m United States Patent 3,256,880 CONVERTIBLE INTRAVENOUS ARMBOARD Erol Y. Caypinar, 150--30 71st Ave., Flushing 67, NY. Filed June 17, 1963, Ser. No. 288,222 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-133) This invention relates to intravenous treatment and particularly to an improved convertible armboard for use on patients being subjected to such treatments.

In modern medicine, intravenous treatments have become an increasingly important and widely used medical procedure. Many medications administered intravenously have proved to be life-saving on innumerable occasions.

Despite the undeniably favorable results of intravenous treatments, patients recall these treatments with much distaste. They remember the traumatic experience of having their arms punctured and the ensuing misery they had to endure'from holding their hands or arms in uncomfortable positions for many hours and the stiffness andpain resulting from being taped to a piece of flat wood traditionally used for this purpose which is called an armboard. Unfortunately, this memorable experience does not predispose the patient to future intravenous treatments.

These armboards onto which the arms or hands are strapped are 20- to 25-inch long, flat pieces of wood, with a plastic or paper covering. They do not have any of the inclinations of the human limb. To immobilize the arm, this wood has to be taped tightly to the hand and arm. If the patients head is raised or if he is in a sitting position, pillows, blankets, towels, etc., have to be used under the arm to give a degree of support. Since these supports slip around very easily, the arm naturally moves and most of the time the intravenous becomes infiltrated (comes out of the vein). This keeps busy resident physicians on frequent call because in most institutions only the physician is allowed to insert the intravenous, so that every day doctors valuable time is wasted attending to infiltrations caused by improper immobilization.

The principal object of this invention is to provide apparatu capable of maintaining a patients arm immobilized during intravenous treatment with the least amount of discomfort and trauma to the patient, particularly in cases where the patient is unconscious, restless or debilitated.

Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus that will give firm support to the arm without the use of other extraneous articles such as pillows, blankets, or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus that has the capability of immobilizing the specific portion of the limb being treated and of enabling the rest of the limb to move.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus that will require no use of adhesives.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus capable of being stored in an antiseptic solution when not in use to avoid cross-contamination; or such apparatus may be made from a disposable material such as heavy pressed paper or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus that is simple to use under different conditions on patients in reclining, sitting and other positions.

In one aspect of the invention, a main or forearm rest may comprise a relatively thin, straight element adapted to extend substantially from the wrist to the elbow. It may be formed with curved side walls generally conforming to the shape of the forearm. The forearm rest may be provided with resilient fastening means at each end thereof for securing it to the forearm of a patient in a manner to immobilize the forearm.

Patented June 21, 1966 an angularly deflected surface at the end of the hand rest opposite its bifurcated end. Flexible strap means may also be connected to the hand rest for immobilizing the patients hand, and the construction is such that it can be attached to the forearm rest with it concave surface formed by the angularly deflected portion facing either upwardly or downwardly to accommodate the fingers in two positions of the hand.

In still another aspect of the invention, an upper arm rest may be provided that generally conforms to, but is of less length than, the forearm rest. It may include pivotal fastening means at its one end adapted to cooperate with similar means at the elbow end of the forearm rest. The upper arm rest may also include flexible fastening strap means for attaching it to the upper arm.

The above, other objects and novel features of the in vention will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawing which are merely exemplary.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a forearm rest to which the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hand rest to which the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper arm rest to which the principles of the invention have been applied; and

FIGS. 4 to 8, inclusive, are various combinations of the rests shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for application to the arm of a patient receiving intravenous treatment.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to a three-part arm and hand rest 10 comprising a forearm rest 11, a hand rest 12 and an upper arm rest 13.

Referring to FIG. 1, the forearm rest 11 may comprise a straight element 14 having curved side wall 15 and 16 so that the element 14 generally conforms to the forearm. Element 14 may be made from sheet stainless steel or plastic so that when not in use, it may be stored in an .antiseptic solution to prevent cross-contamination when used with different patients, or it may be made of inexpensive material such as pressed paper board, in which latter case it is disposable after use.

Parallel slots 17, 18 may be provided at each end of the element 14 in side walls 15, 16, and resilient flexible straps 19 and 20 may 'be threaded through the slots so that their free ends extend between the side walls 15, 16. The opposite ends of straps 19 and 20 may include cooperating fastening means which in the embodiment disclosed are shown as ball and socket connectors 21, 22. With the forearm of the patient placed between the side walls 15, 16 of element 14, the ends of straps 19 and 20 can be adjustably fastened together to effectively immobilize the forearm of the patient.

The wrist end of element 14 may be provided with parallel spaced slot means 23, 24 extending longitudinally along the bottom outer surface of the forearm rest 14. In the embodiment disclosed, the slots 23, 24 are formed by a separate sheet of material 25 that is bent along parallel spaced lines to form the slots 23, 24 when the bent sheet is fixed to the side walls 15 and 16 of forearm hand rest 12 may be angularly deflected along a line 29-29 at an angle in the vicinity of about 20 from the surface 30 of the hand rest, forming a finger support 30. Slots 31, 32 may be provided in the surface 30 through which a flexible strap 33 is threaded. The free ends of strap 33 may be provided with ball and socket type fasteners 34, 35. The construction of the hand rest 12 is such that the legs 27, 28 are adapted to be sli-dingly received by slots 23, 24 of the forearm rest 11, and it may be connected to the latter with the deflected portion 30' extending either upwardly or downwardly, as will be explained later.

Referring to FIG. 3, the upper arm rest 13 may comprise an element 36 that is similar in shape to that of forearm rest 14 but of less length. It, too, may include side walls 37 and 38, the distance between said walls being greater than that between walls 15 and 16 for a purpose to be described. Slots 39 and 40 may be provided in side walls 37, 38, and a resilient strap 41 may be threaded therethrough. Ball and socket fastening means 42 and 43 may be provided at the free ends of the strap 41 for securing the arm rest 13 to the upper arm of the patient. Socket means 44 may be provided in the side walls 37, 38 of upper arm rest 13 adjacent the elbow end thereof, and they are adapted to cooperate with ball connectors 45 in the side walls 15, 16 of forearm rest 11 adjacent its elbow end. Accordingly, the elbow end of rest 13 can slide over the elbow end of rest 11, and the connectors 44, 45 when connected provide a pivotal joint between the forearm rest 11 and the upper arm rest 13 at the elbow end of each.

Referring to FIG. 4, the apparatus is shown as applied to the arm of a patient lying supine with the inside of the forearm and hand facing upwardly. Accordingly, the hand rest 12 is attached to the forearm rest 11 such that the deflected portion 30 extends upwardly. Since the patient is supine, the upper arm rest 13 is connected to the forearm rest such that the two are nested.

Referring to FIG. 5, the apparatus is shown as applied to the arm of a patient who is in a partly sitting position with the inner side of the forearm and hand facing downwardly. In this case, the hand rest 12 is reversed from its position shown in FIG. 4, and the upper arm rest 13 is pivoted to the forearm rest such that it pivots about fastening members 44, 45, adapting itself to the angle which the upper arm makes with the forearm when the former is strapped to the upper arm.

In FIG. 6, the patient is supine and the apparatus is in the same position as in FIG. except that the upper arm rest pivots to a position in line with the forearm rest 11. In this case, the intravenous needle is inserted in the forearm adjacent the elbow.

In FIG. 7, the apparatus is applied to the patients arm in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 4 except that the hand rest 12 is reversed and the inside of the forearm and hand face downwardly.

In some instances, it is desirable to elevate the forearm and hand rests when the patient is supine, and the upper arm rest 13 is not required for the upper arm. In this case, the upper arm rest 13 can be inverted as shown in FIG. 8 and attached to the undersurface of the forearm rest 11 through ball and socket connectors 46, 47 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

Although the various features of the arm rest have been shown and described in detail to fully disclose one embodiment of the invention, it will be evident that changes may be made in such details and certain features may be used without others without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for immobilizing the arm of a patient comprising in combination, a forearm rest including a straight element with front and rear ends and having a bottom surface with curved side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said forearm rest being provided with two coplanar socket means at the front end thereof located along said bottom surface, a hand rest including proximal and distal ends and having a plane surface portion and an angularly deflected portion extending therefrom, said hand rest having a coplanar forked tongue connecting means located on said proximal end, said coplanar forked tongue means being releasably received in said forearm socket means whereby said hand rest may be alternately positioned with the angularly deflected portion thereof extending either upwardly or downwardly, and flexible strap means connected to said hand and forearm rests for securing said rests firmly to the patients hand and forearm.

2. Apparatus for immobilizing the arm of a patient comprising in combination, a forearm rest including a straight element with front and rear ends and having a bottom surface with curved side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said forearm rest being provided with two coplanar socket means at the front end thereof located along said bottom surface, a hand rest including proximal and distal ends and having a plane surface portion and an angularly deflected portion extending therefrom, said hand rest having a coplanar forked tongue connecting means located on said proximal end, said coplanar forked tongue means being releasably received in said forearm socket means whereby said hand rest may be alternately positioned with the angularly deflected portion thereof extending either upwardly or downwardly, an upper arm rest having upper and lower ends and including a straight element having a bottom and upwardly curved side walls that are spaced sufficiently to receive the side walls of said forearm rest, a releasable snap action pivotal connection located between the rear and lower ends of said forearm and upper arm rests respectively interconnecting said forearm and upper arm rests together, and flexible strap means connected to each of said rests for securing said rests firmly to the hand, forearm and upper arm of a patient.

References Cited by the Examiner 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 161,323 3/1875 Brown et al. 128-88 1,431,915 10/1922 De Barr 128133 2,022,883 12/1935 Gee 12889 2,266,231 12/1941 Mazzeo et al 128133 2,312,523 3/1943 Corbett 128-87 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

D. L. TRULUCK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR IMMOBILIZING THE ARM OF A PATIENT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A FOREARM REST INCLUDING A STRAIGHT ELEMENT WITH FRONT AND REAR ENDS AND HAVING A BOTTOM SURFACE WITH CURVED SIDE WALLS EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID FOREARM REST BEING PROVIDED WITH TWO COPLANAR SOCKET MEANS AT THE FRONT END THEREOF LOCATED ALONG SAID BOTTOM SURFACE, A HAND REST INCLUDING PROXIMAL AND DISTAL ENDS AND HAVING A PLANE SURFACE PORTION AND AN ANGULARLY DEFLECTED PORTION EXTENDING THEREFROM, SAID HAND REST HAVING A COPLANAR FORKED TONGUE CONNECTING MEANS LOCATED ON SAID PROXIMAL END, SAID COPLANAR FORKED TONGUE MEANS BEING RELEASABLY RECEIVED IN SAID FOREARM SOCKET MEANS WHEREBY SAID HAND REST MAY BE ALTERNATELY POSITIONED WITH THE ANGULARLY DEFLECTED PORTION THEREOF EXTENDING EITHER UPWARDLY OR DOWNWARDLY, AND FLEXIBLE STRAP MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HAND AND FOREARM RESTS FOR SECURING SAID RESTS FIRMLY TO THE PATIENT''S HAND AND FOREARM. 